


Vault Dweller

by heavybreathingcat



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angel the CEO, Blood and Injury, Gen, Handsome Tim, John the Vault Relic, Mild Jackothy, Non-Consensual Touching, Vault Dweller AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 12:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18717487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavybreathingcat/pseuds/heavybreathingcat
Summary: Lilith never entered the Vault and so, with no one to stop the flow of information, Jack got trapped within. The Relic gave him everything it had until there was nothing left and the doors opened once more, letting Hyperion in.Written forHandsome Peacockas part of the Hub of Heroism gift exchange.Vault Dweller AUbelongs to Handsome Peacock.





	Vault Dweller

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Handsome Peacock](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Handsome+Peacock).



Bloody fists became tangled in his hair, and Jack screamed.

He could not blink; the damage was too severe, and all that was left was to do was to curse the cunt who had taken everything from him. He hunched forward and shrieked into the earth. 

The pain seared from his face to his core, but that was not the worst of it. The Vault relic was at his side. Smashed into three pieces, it was now a mere rock; whatever power it held, was gone.

Jack tried to call out to Nisha, or the others, hell even the damn robot, but all he managed was to paint the ground in blood. He hissed over bloodied teeth and crawled onto his knees. He had only one goal now; the relic showed him enough to guide him forth.

There was a Vault waiting for him and inside it laid the means to bring order to that wretched planet. Jack raised his head and met the gaze of his Vault Hunter team, and revealed the next play.

"I'm going to kill them all."

* * *

John remembered this well; as if they were his own memories. But this encounter in the vault was not his own. Lilith destroying the Vault treasure into 'his' face happened to another Jack. A Jack who became a new man, who twisted his power and grip on Pandora with tyranny and fire.

John could see this, just like he could see  _ everything _ ; all the timelines and all the possibilities.

It took time to gain some semblance of control on what he could see. For the longest of time, the Vault relic showed him everything, and he was its unwilling participant in the flood of information.

But for some reason, things were slowing. The visions were less frequent and more lucid. He could step away from them if he so wanted; move along the timeline and access what he wanted to see.

Often he'd go back, find Angel. Watch her grow, take her first steps. He did not know what had changed and allowed him to do this, but something was different. If only he could access the world outside his mind. For so long, it was just him, and his visions.

John lamented; it was time to see where it all began. 

* * *

He was on the ground, just like the other Jack. But where blood spewed from the mouth of the 'other' Jack, John expelled something else. It crawled through his system, like ice it burned and stilled his movements.

Violet and heavier than blood, it oozed from his open mouth. John lifted a blurry hand; blinking he tried to focus as he drew his fingers from his lips. Eridium coated the flesh. 

The Vault relic had pushed through the fabric of his shirt and latched to his chest. Burning at his skin the relic consumed his mind. Images of a great beast, his daughter Angel; dead, bodies upon bodies lined the streets of a camp. These images rolled in like the tide, and with every new wave, the relic burned and pulsed through his system and the Eridium spewed from his mouth. 

"Jack!"

His double leapt over their fallen comrades and stumbled to reach his side. His hands shook as they hovered over his vitals. John opened his mouth, but nothing but a silent dribble of Eridium poured forth.

The double flinched but did not leave his side. Eyes widening he watched the Alien fluid pool at his knees.

"Wh-what do I do?"

John never had a chance to reply.

The other Jack leaned forward and placed an arm under John's shoulder, an ungloved hand brushed against John's bare skin, skimming his neck. 

The double howled in anguish and threw his arm away. His palm opened and fingers flexed as a large burn seared into his hand from where they had made contact. Nisha heard the scream and disengaged with a legion soldier. She bounded over and left the last of their enemies to the other vault hunters.

"What did you do!?" She grabbed the double and threw him away from John.

The doppelgänger said nothing, but a wild grin formed across his face. He watched with a maniac gaze as the burn grew rapidly; it dripped down his arm and twisted up his flesh like the vines of a creeper.

"Do not touch him!" Nisha hissed and moved to stand guard over him. "Jack, can you move?"

_ 'No.' _

The shock was flowing out of his system only to be replaced with a wave of pain. He could not focus. He could not see nor move from the ground he laid. 

"Lawrence?" Nisha drew away and turned to the double. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

His double hadn't said a word. Still staring at his burning hand, eyes wide and pupils were blown out. He looked like he was drugged out of his mind.

A loud groan, almost ancient sounding rolled through the vault. A sharply drawn breath escaped Nisha's lips before she buckled down and threw Lawrence to his feet.

"THE VAULT IS CLOSING!"

John wanted to turn towards the sound, but he could not. Every breath seemed to push the relic deeper into his chest. 

_ 'Don't leave me here!' _

His double had an arm over Nisha and was stumbling away from him. 

John only said one word, a name that he had never previously allowed himself or others to use. 

"TIMOTHY!" He cried, and the excursion crippled him. He only just managed to hold his head up towards the arching doorway.

Timothy pulled away from Nisha and turned towards him. 

_ 'Help me, please!'  _

The words he tried to say were alien to him and often feigned, but never in his life had he meant it as he did now.

Like an obedient puppy, Timothy took a step towards him. John crawled on all fours with an arm stretched; desperate to reach the same tattooed hand that reach for him.

But as the Vault door neared it's close, Nisha grabbed the double and ripped him away; dragging him over the threshold.

The last thing Jack saw was his own fearful expression calling out to him.

* * *

 

John grimaced and rolled on his side. 

There was a comfort that shouldn't be there. A long forgotten memory whispered in the back of his head. Soft and warm; John recognised he was in a bed, furthermore he realised he was conscious.

He was back in reality.

The realisation made him want to leap up, yet his body was not so compliant. His eyes only just managed to flutterer open and moving his head felt like dragging a sack of bricks. 

Everything was white and fluorescent, and the shapes around him took a painfully long time to come into focus. Monitors and medical equipment he barely recognised were lined up beside him. 

His head fell to the side; gazing down his chest to his arm he found the reason for his discomfort. Multiple IV drips were in his arm, sealed with a digi-lock to his body. Worst of all was the colour of the fluids inside them pushing through his veins. 

The violet glow of the Eridium made him scream.

Though, the sound that escaped him was hoarse and broken.

"No... no not that," he slurred, and he willed his other arm to rip out the IV lines. He was drugged, and all he succeeded in doing was swaying his head to the side.

Defeated, he threw his head back into the pillow and whined. His own voice was alien, unused for so long it took a moment for him to not flinch at the sound. 

The IV wasn't his only concern. From his shoulder to his wrist his arm was covered in spiralling violet tattoos. The designs were familiar – like Angel's – but not the same. John bit the inside of his lip and studied the markings; he was no closer to deciphering them when there was a hydraulic hiss and approaching footsteps.

"Jack..." A familiar voice called out. 

John blinked and tried to focus on the shape standing at the end of the bed. 

The voice spoke again; breathless and tinged with need.

"I came as soon as the Doctors said your brain activity changed."

"Brain... activity?" John slurred.

Something touched his foot and John flinched. To his horror, he only moved an inch; realising he was bound to the bed and his drug-hazed mind hadn't even noticed it.

With a hand trailing across the covers the figure approached to his side.

The face was handsome, but not kind. Jawline and brow too sharp, and eyes too cold to wear a genuine smile and when the man beside him did smile, John did not like it.

"Jack," the man spoke in that same desperate voice. "What do you remember?"

John frowned and said nothing. He was still trying to discern the man beside his bed. He'd seen so many faces through the visions, some joyful, some dying and other mad with greed. This face was a Jack's, but it wasn't a Jack he knew.

"Timothy?" John questioned, and the man's face pulled into a tight smile.

"It's me." His double answered listlessly and exposed two gloved hands at his sides.

John nodded, sighing with relief.

The moment of silence between them was spent with Timothy removing one of the gloves; exposing burned, and violet flesh. John grimaced as the Eridium stained fingers wrapped over his wrist; kneading at the flesh above the restraints.

"What... what's going on?" The words dripped from John's mouth, slow and heavy, just as the Eridium had.

"You were in a coma." 

"What?" John heaved and tugged forward, and pain seared through his chest. He winced and wondered if the relic was still within him, or had that been a dream too?

"You were in a coma for three years," Timothy murmured and did not pull his gaze away for a second. "Three years, until the Vault Relic finished the transfer."

"Transfer?"

Timothy chuckled, "come on, dummy, you can remember," he smiled and squeezed John's wrist.

John stared up at him with a blank gaze, and Timothy's smile fell.

"You're the vault treasure now. The visions, the knowledge of the Eridians, all of it, is within you," he said breathlessly. "And I am your guardian." He tilted his head to the side as if posing for a photo and beamed.

John no longer cared for Timothy's explanations; he curled his arms and legs as far as possible until the restraints cut off his blood supply.

"Let me out of these."

Something flashed across Timothy's face, too quick for John to recognise what it was but fear gripped his chest.

"I can't. Not yet. There are tests and –"

"Let me out." John hissed and kicked his feet as far as the restraints allowed.

Timothy huffed and shook his head.

"The vault closed and you were trapped, but Angel and I, we found a way. It took some time, but we got you out. Since then, you've..." Timothy sighed, almost in a dreamy manner and gestured to the bed, "you've been here, comatose."

John didn't know where to begin. Timothy's manner of fact tone had laid the details out so clearly and yet, John's world was slipping.

Years?

A coma?

Angel?

There was a quiet alarm, and John jerked his line of sight towards the monitors. His vitals were skyrocketing, and Timothy was scarcely aware of it. John's chest raised and fell with panicked breaths and worst of all, Timothy did not care. Still has hand remained wrapped around John's arm, just caressing the skin.

"I can't believe you're here." His double said, and his thumbs dug into John's wrist. "I spent so,  _ so _ , long waiting for this moment."

Timothy words drifted into the back of his mind.

John bowed his head and stared at the covers upon his chest. How long was it? The last thing he recalled was the vault relic burning within him, pools of eridium pouring from his mouth and a door closing.

Timothy was still talking.

"I did everything you asked, Angel and I, we've been so busy."

Nothing Timothy said made sense, but that was the least of his concerns.

"You left me..." John whispered and pulled his gaze up to stare at the man he'd once considered an ally. "You left me in that vault."

"I did." Timothy admitted, "but we got you out."

Timothy leaned in, and his hand shifted so that it sat upon John’s abdomen. He was closer now, and John saw the details that his drugged fogged eyes couldn't before; freckles splashed across Timothy skin, but the old features did not carry with old Timothy. 

_ This _ Timothy had changed.

His old double spread his palm open and groped John's stomach under the infirmary gown. His eyes had a focus like that of a predator, wide and unblinking. 

"We learned so much from you. You and the Vault have been so good for us."

The hand dug in and traced down his navel.

"Then why... the restraints." John seethed and struggled to prove his point.

"You've woken before. You tried to flee before we could finish  _ understanding _ ." Timothy's ministrations stilled. "But, we needed more information, so, we had to put you under again."

"Put... me under?" John glanced at the Eridium pumping through his veins and the line in his arm.

Timothy sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Your body won't stop producing Eridium, the more Eridium, the most visions you have and the more we learn of the other vaults."

As Timothy listed the reasons behind the bedrest, John shivered and receded into the pillow. How long had this been going on for?

"I've dreamt enough," John grounded.

"And Angel agreed, which is why you're here now."

"How long did you keep me like this." John said and glared at his own face.

"Until we learnt what we needed."

"You kept me like this?! On purpose!"

"It's over for now," Timothy said and gestured to the IV. "We've drained the Eridium from your system. No more visions."

"Angel, where is she?!"

"She's... around."

John leaned forward and bared his teeth, like a caged animal he was ready to bite the smug look off the doppelganger’s face.

"Come on now. Stop that." Timothy pulled away and placed his hand back to John's wrist, pressing a thumb into the veins. 

"You just woke up,  _ don't _ ruin this for me."

"Untie me, I'm your boss," John rasped. 

Timothy jerked his head back and laughed loud until his voice became hoarse. It was a horrible sound, and all the hairs on John's arms stood on end.

"We did some reorganising while you were out."

* * *

 

"Mam, Do you want to see him? We could organise a secure –"

"No." She turned on heel and left the ward. Watching her father wake, even if it were from the sidelines had been a pointless endeavour. She had hoped it would have brought her closure, seeing him struggle, being the one at the end of a needle and strapped to a bed.

But it did not.

Knawing at the back of her mind were her own years of abuse, endless tests and questions. She curled her hands and the tattoos upon her arm flashed, startling her PA.

The memories wouldn't lie still. They flew in like moths to the light.

_ "One more test and we can go home." _

_ "You get to go home!" _ the little girl kicked at the bed and cried.

Her father had hushed her, but the second her cries stilled he ordered the scientists to continue their work.

_ "Daddy just wants to understand,"  _ he cooed and brushed a strand from her forehead.

Now it was her turn to 'understand.'

For three years she had learned everything she could from the Vault relic within her father. In his Eridium fuelled visions he spewed the secrets of the vault through whispers and ramblings.

Her and Timothy acted on what they could, and now Hyperion belonged to her.

"MAM!" 

Her PA shrieked and shoved Angel aside.

Security was yelling, and an alarm descended from the roof which only added to the chaos. Angel balanced herself and straightened out her suit. Glaring up she pushed her PA aside and sought to cease the commotion. 

Jack had escaped, or rather Timothy in his lust-stupid mind had likely given in to her father's wishes. Jack was leaning against the railing of the hospital ward, breathing heavily and waved around a gun.

One of the guards feet poked out from the ward.

"Get away from me!" Jack bellowed and turned off the safety. 

Angel strode down the hall, heels clicking against the ground at a perfectly even pace. Her men, like a school of fish, parted as she waded through. 

"NO MORE TEST! No more Eridium!" Jack's voice wavered, and he fired off a warning round.

Angel pushed past her armed security and came to a halt.

"Hello, Jack." 

Years of unspoken contempt coated her greeting, and before her father could say a word, she raised her hand, accessed the code within the weapon, and disabled it. 

Jack's eyes grew wide, and he stared between the useless weapon in his hand the markings upon her arm. 

His jaw quivered before his mouth fell open and the gun dropped to the floor. He took a hesitant step and reached forward. 

"Angel?"

Security was faster. They tackled him to the ground, shoved handcuffs around his wrists and kicked him to his knees. 

Angel's heart flickered at the violent display but she did not let it lower her guard. It may be her father, but he hadn't played that part in a  _ long _ time.

"Angel..." Jack looked up and pleaded. Once upon a time, she would have fallen for that face. Jack knew how to play an audience; it's what got him inside the vault in the first place.

Not any more.

"Baby, girl, what's happening?"

She took a step towards him and knelt so that she was level with him. The marking across his body were already dimming, meaning the visions would have ceased. Perhaps she was wrong to have granted him this freedom. There could still be more to learn.

She cupped his cheek and smiled.

"I just want to understand."

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Handsome Peacock](https://handsomepeacock.tumblr.com) as part of the Hub of Heroism gift exchange. Vault Dweller AU belongs to Handsome Peacock. Beta read by the lovely Eternal-garbage.
> 
> This was a blast to work on! Obviously it being a gift and a surprise i had to take some creative guesses here and there, but I hope you love what I've put together, this is a damn fun AU. XXX


End file.
